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Best new contenders: Who could get the Grammy nod?

Kimberly Perry and brothers Neil and Reid are the country trio behind If I Die Young, the song that went triple-platinum and earned the group Country Music Association Awards for single and song of the year. The Band Perry also scored the CMA and Academy of Country Music awards for new artist. The three just finished opening for Reba McEntire's fall tour and seem like a shoo-in for a best-new-artist Grammy nomination.

After Minaj signed with Lil Wayne's Young Money label, she became a major hip-hop guest star on songs by Drake, David Guetta, T.I., Kanye West and Lil Wayne. But Minaj's own album, Pink Friday, which hit No. 1 on Billboard's album chart, proved that she isn't just a sidekick. With two American Music Awards (pictured), Billboard's title of Rising Star and a super-hit in Super Bass, Minaj is a top contender for best new artist.

U.K. native Jessie J has certainly made her mark in the USA this year. She served as house band for the MTV Video Music Awards, performed on X Factor and sang on Saturday Night Live.After writing songs such as Party in the USA for Miley Cyrus, winning several British music awards, and releasing the rising hit Domino, it seems like powerhouse vocalist Jessie J deserves her own American celebration.

Goulding, another U.K. native, has become the darling of electronic music. The sweet-voiced singer behind music-festival hits Starry Eyed and Lights combines electro with folk and pop. She's performed on Saturday Night Live, appeared at Lollapalooza and played at the royal wedding reception. Her album Lights hit No. 1 in the U.K. and is gaining momentum in the U.S. So is Goulding's career.

Mark Foster, Cubbie Fink and Mark Pontius are indie-rock group Foster the People. You probably know them as the boys who sing Pumped Up Kicks, the runaway hit that has more than 43 million YouTube hits and almost 3 million downloads. The song crossed over to five music charts and helped make Torches a No. 1 rock album. Single Helena Beat is proving that the group, which was nominated for best new artist at the VMAs (but lost to Tyler, the Creator), is not a one-hit wonder.

After Wiz's hit Black andYellow, the Pittsburgh native had a No. 1 R&B and hip-hop album, Rolling Papers. The aggressive rapper was nominated for best new artist at the VMAs, appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone and is working with Snoop Dogg on a movie (Mac and Devin Go to High School), tour and soundtrack. With single Young, Wild & Free climbing the charts, Wiz's music career is taking off.

As the first artist released on Jay-Z's label Roc Nation, J. Cole was featured on tracks by Jay-Z, Beyoncé, Wale and Drake. The German-born R&B/hip-hop singer has his own album, Cole World: The Sideline Story, which hit No. 1 on Billboard's album chart. Maybe Jay-Z's protégé is ready to be a Grammy nominee, just like predecessor Kanye West was six years ago.

After freestyling for Kanye West at a hip-hop radio station, Big Sean was signed by West to G.O.O.D. Music. This year, the rapper released his No. 3 debut album, Finally Famous, with appearances by Lupe Fiasco and John Legend. His collaboration with Chris Brown on My Last earned him a VMA nomination for best new artist and showed that Big Sean could be ready for the big leagues.

The 23-year-old London rapper has won several Europeon and urban awards for best breakthrough and best newcomer, so why not best new artist? He performed at Lollapalooza, headlined his own tour, toured with Jay-Z and Rihanna, released a single with Swedish House Mafia and remixed a track from P. Diddy (and, soon, Justin Bieber). His debut album hit No. 2 on the R&B/hip-hop charts and is called Disc-Overy, but it seems like this guy has already been discovered.

Ryan Follese, Nash Overstreet and Jamie Follese were raised by famous Nashville songwriters, and Ian Keaggy was born to a Grammy-nominated guitarist. Though the guys of Hot Chelle Rae have country roots, their music, including hit single Tonight, Tonight, is catchy pop-rock. Hot Chelle Rae was just named favorite new artist at the American Music Awards and opened for The Script's tour. Now, the four are making the talk-show rounds to promote new album Whatever. It seems like these guys might follow in their successful parents' footsteps.

Swiss tenor Urs Buhler, Spanish baritone Carlos Marin, French pop singer Sebastien Izambard and American tenor David Miller form this crossover quartet discovered by X Factor creator Simon Cowell in 2003. In 2006, Il Divo released the pop-classical album Ancoro, which made its debut at No. 1 on Billboard's album chart. After a few more top 10 albums and international success, Il Divo came out with Wicked Gamethis year. Wouldn't it be nice if the men could get a Grammy nomination before their fourth worldwide tour next year?

John Paul White and Joy Williams haven't had as much airplay as most of the acts on this list, but they're industry favorites. The duo opened for Adele's North American tour, and their emotional folk-pop single Poison & Wine was featured in Grey's Anatomy and the movie Something Borrowed. 2011 album Barton Hallow hit No. 2 on the folk charts, and the band (they're married, but not to each other) has found fans in Taylor Swift and Sara Bareilles. They might find fans in the Grammy nominators, too.

Jacob Tilley, Sameer Gadhia, Francois Comtois, Payam Doostzadeh and Eric Cannata dropped out of college to make indie-rock music together. After opening for Kings of Leon in 2009, the California-based group's music started appearing on TV shows, and the band began playing at colleges and music festivals. Young the Giant performed single My Body at this year's VMAs with hundreds of fans onstage. Sales spiked after the show, pushing the track into the top five on the alternative charts. Now, Young the Giant doesn't need to bring its own fans on the road: The band is already selling out venues for its 2012 North American tour.

Bon Iver's Justin Vernon released his second album, the critically acclaimed Bon Iver, after working with Kanye West on My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. Bon Iver, which features Vernon's mellow falsetto, hit No. 1 on the independent charts and put Vernon's face on the covers of Billboard and Spin. If an indie musician is nominated for the best-new-artist Grammy, Bon Iver is it.

After contestants on Fox's So You Think You Can Dance performed a contemporary routine to Perri's Jar of Hearts, the previously unknown singer/songwriter found herself with a Billboard Hot 100 hit and a record deal. Since then, Perri has toured with James Blunt, released the album lovestrong and contributed the poignant A Thousand Years to the soundtrack for The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn. Maybe she can snag a Grammy nomination like other Twilight contributors have before her (ahem, Florence + The Machine, Paramore).